It's Afternoon Tea Week; what better excuse to indulge in delicate finger sandwiches, scones and fancy cakes?
Afternoon Tea Week celebrates the great British tradition of ‘afternoon tea’ and is the perfect excuse to catch up with loved ones over a cup of tea and some delicacies.
This year’s Afternoon Tea Week runs from August 8 until August 14 and venues across the world will run a selection of exclusive discounts and exciting events to pay tribute to one of their favourite pastimes.
But before you celebrate, do you know how it all began? Let us take you back to the history of ‘afternoon tea’.
While the English culture of drinking tea dates back to the 1660s, the concept of afternoon tea was introduced by the seventh Duchess of Bedford, Anna Russell, in 1840.
According to The World’s Healthiest Afternoon Tea, with a long period between lunch and dinner, the Duchess often became ravenous during the late afternoon, so she requested a tray of tea, bread, butter, and cake be brought to her room around 4 o’clock and this soon became a regular occasion, with the Duchess inviting friends to join her for tea.
They report that even the Duchess’s long-term friend, Queen Victoria, later embraced the idea, enjoying her tea with a light cake with buttercream and fresh raspberries, later known as the Victoria Sponge, and this led to afternoon teas becoming a social event for wealthy upper-class women, who would dress in long gowns, gloves and hats for the occasion.
They reveal that this also led to upmarket hotels, restaurants, and high society gardens in the summer months becoming popular locations for patrons of afternoon tea, and by the late 19th century, as the price of teas became more affordable, the middle-class began to adopt the custom.
The afternoon tea remains a royal tradition, with Queen Elizabeth II reportedly devouring afternoon tea daily. Many enjoy afternoon tea on occasions such as birthday and anniversary celebrations.
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